“The goal of earning a degree never left me."
Magaly Uriostegui transferred from Santa Ana College to Cal State Fullerton in 2019 but quit after just one semester due to challenges balancing academics, family responsibilities and financial hardship. While raising two young daughters and working full time, Uriostegui's desire to return to college never wavered, though.
She was invited to restart college through the California State University's Second Start Pilot Program—and seized the opportunity.
With the support of her husband and family, Uriostegui reentered CSUF in spring 2025. She achieved a 3.94 GPA and earned a bachelor's degree in sociology in May, part of the first class of graduating Second Start students.
While enrolled at CSUF, Uriostegui proved to be an exemplary student and leader. She participated in the Career Center's
“I Am First" program for first-generation college students and served as treasurer of the Rotaract Club of CSUF, through which she completed over 75 hours of community service.
“My journey is about breaking cycles and creating new possibilities for my family," Uriostegui said. “With the right support and belief in yourself, it's never too late to reach your goals."
“This program has changed my life and my family’s future. I will forever be grateful for the support and opportunity Second Start has given me.”
—Magaly Uriostegui
A Second Chance
The CSU's Second Start pilot program is a reengagement and reenrollment campaign for students who, in general:
- Attended a CSU as a first-time freshman.
- Stopped attending three or more years ago.
- Left the CSU with a GPA of lower than 2.0.
- Did not attend a two- or four-year institution after leaving the CSU.
The CSU Chancellor's Office launched the pilot program in fall 2024 on 15 participating campuses: Bakersfield, Channel Islands, Chico, East Bay, Fresno, Fullerton, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Monterey Bay, Sacramento, San José, San Luis Obispo, San Marcos, Sonoma and Stanislaus.
Eligible students can reenroll at the university they formerly attended and receive admissions support, dedicated advising, prescriptive course planning and unit limits, coaching on time management and learning strategies, and other resources that help ensure their second attempt at earning a degree will be more successful.
“We all need to be given a second chance sometimes," said Liz Reed, systemwide director of student records and success systems at the CSU Chancellor's Office. “The Second Start program is designed for people who really want to have social mobility and improve their lives. It's basically an amnesty program for a very select group of students."
The program enables students to reset their GPA if they pass 12 graded units with a 2.5 GPA or better within the first 12 months of reenrolling. Students still retain previously passed coursework toward their degree, even though those grades no longer factor into their GPA.
Anthony Korsund—coordinator for Reinstatements and Returning Students at Sonoma State—emphasized that this GPA reset is transformative because it removes a major psychological and academic barrier that inhibits students from returning.
“Second Start is a wonderful way to cut through a lot of that red tape," he said, noting that many students leave after “one bad semester" and come to believe college is no longer an option.
Reaching Out
Like the other participating campuses, Korsund's team at SSU worked with their university analytics department to identify thousands of students who meet eligibility requirements and used funding from the Chancellor's Office to market the program to those students.
SSU created a web page for the program that included a video explainer and a sign-up form to book appointments with Korsund, who also serves as SSU's Second Start coordinator. They also sent thousands of invitations to participate in Second Start via emails and texts to eligible students, inviting them back to the university.
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Xianna Rodriguez Xianna Rodriguez remembers receiving one of those emails in late 2024. She had attended SSU in 2016 right after graduating from high school but was academically dismissed after one year.
“I knew I wasn't necessarily ready for a four-year university and enrolled even though I didn't know what I wanted to study," Rodriguez said. “I felt like going to a four-year university was the only path I could take at the time."
She reenrolled at SSU in fall 2025—double majoring in cinematic arts and technology, and communications—and completed the 12 units required to reset her GPA in just one semester. As of this spring, Rodriguez's GPA is more than 2.5, significantly higher than the 1.0 GPA she left with.
Rodriguez attributed her success to regular check-ins with her advisor, support from SSU's
Disability Services and the hands-on learning experiences she has had in audio and video production courses, emphasizing that she has “felt so welcomed."
“Because there are already expectations placed on me as a visually impaired person, getting my degree feels especially important," Rodriguez said. “It's a way to open doors, challenge assumptions and show that even in a highly visual field like cinematic arts and technology, I can succeed."
Watch a video explainer to learn more about the Second Start program at Sonoma State.